the trinity revisited

I was thinking about the Trinity (yes, it is the Pantheon now, but Godspell is still of a very different sort than the other three - Wicked, Fiddler, Les Mis), and I thought of something they have in common that I hadn't thought of before. Speaking of Robert Cormier's books, Lisette Allred said that they encourage hope and noble behavior despite, and even partly because of, their sadly-ever-after endings because "we understand whom we are meant to imitate." Even when the hero's story ends badly, we know we should imitate him because it is his motives, his thoughts, his actions, that the author shows us; we understand who we are meant to imitate.

But in these plays - in the Trinity - we see different characters. Yes, we love and admire Jean Valjean. We know that Marius and Cosette love each other. But we also see why Javert thinks himself a good man. We see that Eponine certainly loves Marius as much as Cosette does. We agree with the choice Elphaba makes, but we see why Galinda makes hers too. We understand Chava's decision to marry Fyedka, but we understand also why Tevye cannot accept them. It's as if the authors of these plays are saying, "I don't have any corner on the truth market. You have to decide what to believe for yourself." It's like in 'No One is Alone' from Into the Woods. (By the way, if any one song could singlehandedly deify a show, I think it would be this one.)

Mother cannot guide you,
Now you're on your own.
Only me beside you,
Still you're not alone.
No one is alone.
Truly, no one is alone.
Sometimes people leave you
Halfway through the wood
Others may deceive you;
You decide what's good.
You decide alone;
But no one is alone.

we believe all sorts of things that aren't true - we call it history

"A heart is not judged by how much you love; but by how much you are loved by others."-- The Wizard of Oz

It sounds charming at first, doesn’t it? It sounds charming, and sweet, and ever so true. It’s okay: you can say yes; I thought it sounded lovely at first, too. But stop for a moment and think about it. "A heart is not judged by how much you love; but by how much you are loved by others." Have you realized what the implications are of that statement?

You see, ever since I’ve come to love Wicked (the musical; unfortunately, I was unable to find in myself any fondness for the book), I find myself unable to think of The Wizard of Oz in any other terms. That is, the Wicked Witch will never again be the bad guy for me; she will always be the beautiful heroine Elphaba. Dorothy has been ousted from her position as protagonist, and I’ll never be able to think of her as anything other than that whiny silhouette I saw at the Kennedy Center.

So, returning to my original topic, I repeat the Wizard’s statement: "A heart is not judged by how much you love; but by how much you are loved by others." As I first read it on my friend’s wall, I didn’t think such a noble sentiment fit the Wizard at all. Then, I thought about it for a moment and realized that it fits him perfectly. I don’t think the Wizard gave a fig for anyone in Oz but himself, yet everybody in Oz thought he was the best thing to happen to them since the brilliant idea of putting marshmallows in hot chocolate came along. He was the Wonderful Wizard – complete with a wonderful heart.

Elphaba tried to help all sorts of people. Doctor Dillamond. Galinda (one time was not long after Loathing, remember!). The Lion. The Wizard (remember the monkeys?). Many Animals, probably none of whom she’d ever met before. The Flying Monkeys. Nessa. Boq. Fiyero. She loved most of them probably more than some people do anyone in their entire lives: she sacrificed her reputation and very nearly her life for them. By the “end” of her life, though, she could’ve counted on one hand the people who loved her. So, she was the Wicked Witch – heartless.

Unfortunately, it would neither be quite fair nor quite true to say the opposite – that a heart is judged by how much you love, regardless of how much you are loved by others; but I think it would be true to say that it ought to be. We humans are rather stupid at times; some bad people have been able to fool an awful lot of us into loving them without loving any of us in return. But, some good people have managed to love an awful lot of us without our ever so much as noticing them. That’s why that quote isn’t noble and sweet: it’s saying what matters isn’t how much you love, but how good your PR is. I’m afraid I can’t say that’s not how the world works, but I’m pretty darn sure that that’s not how it should work. So you keep your quote from the Wizard of Oz – I’m going to go listen to Defying Gravity.

PS: The title line is taken from a line from the musical Wicked by Winnie Holzman and Stephen Schwartz.